Building Bridges
by ChimeraDragon
Summary: On an alternate Earth the Atlantis Expedition is an architectural firm called: Atlantis Enterprises. John and Rodney are two of their best designers. [COMPLETE]


"You're out of your mind!" Kavanaugh snarled viciously.

"You seem to be the only person here that thinks so..." Rodney sighed with a roll of his eyes.

"It's unfeasible!" Kavanaugh snorted.

"It's perfectly feasible!" Rodney snarled back.

"You don't have the numbers to support it!" Kavanaugh snapped.

"Actually, he does have the numbers to support it," John said as he walked into the room, pushing his glasses up his nose, carrying a tablet PC in his arms.

"Prove it! McKay is full of it and so are you!" Kavanaugh replied, arms still crossed as he glared across the room at the two other men.

"I can back up too..." Zelenka said as he waved the papers he was holding in his hands.

"You ..." Kavanaugh started, his face red, hands balled up for a moment before he dropped them at his sides. He paused a moment and then brought his hands up and pointed at all each of them in turn. "All three of you think you can do it? Fine, then do it! But just remember I'll be there when you all fail. And I will remind you that I told you it couldn't be done."

"And we will be happy with quiet, yes?" Radek asked quietly. He gave a small smile and took his glasses off to wipe them on his shirt.

Kavanugh left in a huff, feet pounding away on floor.

"Now that he's out of the way, don't we have a bridge to build?" John asked.

"Actually, we have to design it first. And I have to get approval to use this design," Rodney counter, but without much venom. He sighed as he pulled out a rolled up paper and pinned it carefully to the board. "This is what I had in mind, and you two have already approved the math. I'm glad to know I haven't made any mistakes in it."

John and Radek gasped quietly as they looked over the drawing. John had submitted ideas for the bridge but didn't know if any of it was going to be used. He noted his spires had be added with the addition of spiral walkways; with railing of course, around the outside. He noted the color and sighed.

"You know, it should be a blue and gray not black. Black's too depressing," John said as he looked at it.

"But if it's blue it will be washed out by the ocean," Rodney protested.

"And that's what will make the Atlantis bridge so notable," John countered.

"Hard to see at distance, but obvious when on it?" Radek asked as he thought about color schemes that would be best.

"Exactly!"

"It will have to be a kind of swirling pattern, to match the staircases," Rodney added thoughtfully.

"See?" John asked.

"Yes, we have many kinds of blue to use. Though, salt water is bad for paint," Radek amended.

"We have that new sealant, right? We can test it once we get the paint job done," Rodney said.

"And what if paint is not protected?" Radek asked, looking over the blueprint.

"Then people will have a secure job repainting it frequently, just like the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact some people get paid pretty good for that kind of work. Now quit complaining and figure out the colors. Something simple, but striking," Rodney said as he rolled his eyes.

"Blue, gray, and white," John said. "In the swirling spiral pattern. Fairly simple, but still complex enough to be cool."

"Cool?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with cool?"

"You sound like you're still in grade school when you say words like cool," Rodney replied with an eye-roll.

"But that's what we're going for. Cool on multiple levels. A cool color scheme, with a cool design. We could outline the various shades in black to enhance the difference in colors. Or maybe just around the blues..." John was staring at the design concept with his eyes slightly unfocused."

"You mean swirls like this?" Rodney asked as he made a sweeping design on the white board, it came and curled back in on itself before moving upward again. He drew a few lines to indicate the effect curving around something.

"Almost," John replied as he took a different marker and made the swirl almost touch itself and then move on and then do the same thing again. "Like a cross between tidal waves and clouds. See?"

Rodney and Radek both took a step back from the board and stared for a minute.

"I see what he means," Radek said. "Would look very good."

"Agreed. So, we get these plans to Elizabeth before the end of the day and we're all set for this project."

"Well, then we have to be approved," John said quietly.

"And then have to watch over construction," Radek added.

Rodney rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "This project. Not the approval, not the construction. This part. Once we drop this part off we're done with it. Then we get a break while they discuss money until the cows come home. Then we can move on to the construction aspect of it. But we've done our part. Print it, roll it and let's get it delivered!" He snapped his fingers loudly and the other two got to work. Rodney sat down at his laptop and quickly typed up the discussions from that day along with the color recommendations and the possibility for coatings that would protect the paint job. John and Radek finished at nearly the same time.

"We are good, yes?" Radek asked.

"Of course we're good. We're the best," Rodney muttered as he hit the print button. He looked up to see the two amused expressions of his friends. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, but … it's still …" John shrugged, at a loss for words. "You know?"

"Sure, but don't you dare let it go to your heads," Rodney warned.

"We won't. Can we go now?"

"Here, this goes on top of the stack," Rodney said as he pulled the paper off the printer and handed it to John since he was the one carrying the majority of the load.

Once they arrived in Elizabeth's office she took the page off the top and quickly read it over, checking the figures and estimates. She smiled at the three men in front of her. "I believe this has approval. At least from me. Congratulations gentlemen. You've got a bridge."

They stopped a moment and grinned at each other. Months of work was ready to be presented. The Atlantis bridge was going to become a reality and it was all because of their hard work. They had designed it from thoughts and ideas.

The End


End file.
